A Look at Potential 2013/14 Lines

[JBM73]

Early look at Blackhawks' 2013-14 lines - Chicago Blackhawks Blog - ESPN Chicago

 

[anotheridiot]

I dont think they stick with Toews and Kane together at the start of the season. That gets hidden for the playoffs. Bickell should stay with one of them, but I dont think he gets top line minutes all year either.

Cant see playing Ben Smith anywhere but center though.

 

[gmalis1]

Everyone knows I love to play the lineup game.

Actually, I thought ESPN did a pretty good job of their estimation for the opening lineups for Q.

What I am beginning to love about this Hawks roster more than any other is the absolute flexibility Q will have on mixing and matching.

Do you play Bickell-Toews-Kane right away after their success in the latter stages of the Final? Or do you move Hossa back to the top line and move Kane down with Sharp? Will Brandon Pirri play well enough to be second line center, or do you have to move Michael Handzus, Marcus Kruger or even Andrew Shaw there?

Do you play Shaw-Smith-Saad on the third line? Or do you move Saad back up to the first again?

You need a tough guy/enforcer solid defender? Then play Brandon Bollig. You want more speed but someone who can hit? Then play Jeremy Morin. You want more size? Play Jimmy Hayes.

There are so many interchangeable pieces on this team, we're gonna love it this season. A matchup nightmare for ANY opposing team who usually has a top six at most. Our bottom six, whomever they will be will be far superior to the bottom six on any other team it's gonna be just nuts.

Add in the Hawks defensive 7 as the same as last season and...well, good luck matching up with them.

Handzus will play penalty kill with Kruger, along with Toews and Hossa, and add in Saad and Morin for the PK as well. Solid six there. You can even substitute Pirri for Morin if you need.

This team has a chance to be scary good yet again. So many players, so much talent. The only thing that can derail them is extended injuries, especially to any of the core players.

How many more days until fall practice starts?

 

[JBM73]

Well said, g. The talent allows Q to mix and match as needed. Still, I'm tired of the 2nd line C hole. I'm hoping Danault can eventually fill it and put an end to the topic.

 

[gmalis1]

Brandon Pirri, Philip Denault, Drew LeBlanc, Teuvo Teravainen. All four can play center. Talk about a wealth of young talent at a position.

The Hawks have certainly drafted well and should be in great position in the next 1-4 years as all this talent develops.

 

[averagejoe]

JBM, you should know that gmalis will probably reorganize the lines about a dozen times before the preseason.

I just hope the PP lines are more productive.

As productive as the Stalberg-Bickell-Shaw line was last season, I wouldn't be surprised to see them insert Kruger now that Stalberg is gone.

 

[gmalis1]

Hee hee. I told you I love to play the lineup game. It's one of my favorite hobbies. LOL.

Kruger taking over Stalberg's role on the third line. Hmmm, that could work too. Whereas Kruger isn't as fast as Stalberg (hardly anyone in the NHL can make that claim), he does add more speed and I'm sure Kruger will score as many, if not more, goals than Stalberg did last season without the defensive lapses that Stalberg incurs.

That's what my post about flexibility with this roster was all about. Sure, move Kruger to the third line. Or you could put Ben Smith in there. Or maybe Smith with plays center with Kruger and Saad and you move Shaw to second line center.

So many combinations. So many interchangeable pieces. I absolutely love it. I'm just hoping Q doesn't get roasted for his mix and match style this season. We may be seeing lots of matchups against opposing teams. So many that the lines will not be even close to being set in stone from game to game, let alone throughout the entire season.

I've rarely seen any NHL team have this kind of flexibility. Certainly not from lines 1 through 4. Sure, a few coaches may mix things up a little by moving one or two players around. But I see so many permutations of the 12 forwards (actually, I'm thinking more like 14 forwards as it will be interesting to see who are the healthy scratches from game to game).

Now that the schedule is out, I'm chomping at the bit for hockey to start up again.

 

[gmalis1]

Power play is definitely THE area the Hawks have to get better at.

Even being in the 10-15th from the top power play would be okay. With all the talent and all the skill and all the scorers the Hawks have, it's really unfathomable that the Hawks can be so putrid on the power play.

Now, I know that the playoffs is a whole different game. And I know that the Hawks proved they could win the Cup despite being downright awful on the power play (I think they were like 1 for 18 in the Final). But really, you don't want to be that bad with the man advantage. You need to cash in on one or two a game to really impact the results.

What seems irritating is that the Hawks setup seems to be so predicated on outside shots that the opponent collapses the four men in the box and takes away anything closer in. I don't have an answer to counteract that. But I'm pretty sure it's something that HAS to be addressed this season.

 

[JBM73]

Chicago Blackhawks' formula relies a lot on young players - NHL.com - NHL Insider